Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 7.5%, selling 50,333 shares and owning 622,764 shares valued at approximately $35.7 million by the end of the second quarter.
• Despite some analysts lowering their price targets, the average rating for Hancock Whitney remains a Buy with a consensus target price of $69.86.
• Hancock Whitney recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 3.3%.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 622,764 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,333 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.73% of Hancock Whitney worth $35,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,532 shares of the company's stock worth $10,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,016 shares of the company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 607,177 shares of the company's stock worth $31,846,000 after purchasing an additional 10,157 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,027,364 shares of the company's stock worth $105,139,000 after purchasing an additional 128,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HWC shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.86.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $55.27 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $61.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 1.11. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.90 and a fifty-two week high of $64.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $0.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.32 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.99% and a return on equity of 11.29%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HWC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.